"Your Majesty! The people in that area are angry with the government. I have been thinking of ways to pacify them. I have been discussing the issue with the officials in that region. I will soon submit a plan of action for your approval" said the Minister.
"Why are you trying to pacify the people, instead of sending the troops to that place and quelling the agitation?"
"Pardon me, Your Majesty. It is a region adjoining our border. Our enemy country has been waiting for an opportunity to annex that region. If we try to put down the protests of the people using force, people may become alienated from us and fall a prey to the schemes of our enemy. Therefore, we should approach the issue carefully, by empathizing with the people"
"Why are those people agitating? Have we not provided them adequate facilities?"
"Those people have not been protesting seeking facilities. To check the infiltration of people from our enemy country in that region, our army has implemented certain stringent measures. The army arrests people on suspicion, takes them to the army camp and interrogates them. In this process, some innocent people are also being subjected to harsh treatment. The people have been mainly agitating against the highhanded measures of the army."
"What can we do about? Unless the army follows stringent measures, how can it identify the infiltrators and punish them or expel them?"
"I have discussed the problem with the army officers in that place and devised a plan. I planned to submit this to you for your approval, after finalizing the details. Now that we are discussing this issue, I will outline the plan to you.
"The plan involves creating a people's army, comprising people living in that region since long. The members of the people's army will operate in secrecy, identify the infiltrators and report them to the army. The army will take the infiltrators into custody secretly and interrogate them. Since the members of the people's army will be citizens living in a particular place for a long time, they will be able to identify the strangers trying to infiltrate their places. That way, the chances of innocent people getting arrested on suspicion will be minimized. By arresting and interrogating the infiltrators, the army will also be able to extract information from the infiltrators about the plans of the enemy country and thwart those plans and thereby protect our border regions."
"This appears to be a good idea. Why are you delaying the implementation of the plan?" asked the King.
"Your Majesty! The people's army is a tool to resolve the issue of infiltration. We are still working out the details of implementing the plan, by discussing the with our army chief about the modalities of implementing the plan, after identifying the challenges in implementing it and formulating the steps to implement it.
"First, we need to give some time for the people's anger to subside. We should reduce the army's operations for a while. We should then identify the people who could be included in the people's army, talk to them discretely and after getting satisfied about their suitability and inclination, tell them about the plan and enroll them. With the help of those recruited, we could enroll more people, following the same screening process.
"We should exercise extraordinary care to ensure that no infiltrator gets recruited in the people's army, inadvertently. After recruiting the people, we should keep a secret watch over them for some time through our intelligence men, to satisfy ourselves about the integrity of the recruits. Only if we carry out these steps carefully, will the plan succeed."
"Very well, Minister. As outlined by you, work out the plan in detail and implement it carefully. I am now giving you the permission to do whatever is required to execute this plan" said the King.
Section 2
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble
karuviyum kAlamum seygaiyum seyyum
aruvinaiyum mANdadhu amaichchu.
Verse 630
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